Ryanair braced for difficult winter

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has admitted that the low-cost airline was braced for a difficult winter as austerity measures and the eurozone crisis hit demand.

The Dublin-based carrier, which operates more than 1,500 flights a day across 28 countries, is expecting traffic growth of 1% between September and March, down from 7% this summer following winter capacity cuts, Mr O'Leary said.